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Post by Low Light Mike on May 25, 2008 17:15:47 GMT -8
I'm anxiously waiting for reports and pictures from today's group trip to Galiano Island, re various members' ship-spotting opportunities.
I hope that someone got the passing-V's from the Bluffs or beach. The BCFS website showed that the 12:00noon departures for Saanich & Vancouver were 7 minutes apart, so maybe that ruined the 12:45pm opportunity in Active Pass?
Anyways, post your photos here, gentlemen, once you have a chance to upload them.
I can't wait to see what historic gems you've captured today.
Thanks for your work.
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on May 25, 2008 22:12:29 GMT -8
I just got home from todays trip. Me Scott Donella and Nick all met at Swartz Bay and we took the 9:35am sailing on the Cumberland to Sturdies Bay via Pender Island. Once we arrived on Galiano we went straight to Bellhouse Park to get some photos of the Cumberland leaving. After that we decided to see if we could get anything to eat. Seeing we wanted something quick we phoned Chris on the Tsawwassen and asked them if they were eating onboard and if they could purchase some burgers for Scott and Donella. Once we met them at Sturdies Bay me Dan and his mom and Nick headed to the Bluffs and the rest of them went to the cemetary. We watched the Tsawwassen pass and the V's pass. After the V's past we all met up at the Bluffs and decided to go to Montague Harbour. So we got the ferry geek convoy going (3 cars) and headed over to Montague Harbour. Spent some time in that area then me Nick, Chris, Jordan, Mikey Dan and his mom went to the cemetary and everyone else went to the Bluffs. We had walkie talkies between the two groups so we were talking back and forth which was halarious. After that we headed back to Sturdies Bay stopping at the little Cafe/Store, we were sat outside for a bit and watched Chris's video he took of the Esquimalt decomissioning on his laptop. Went back to Sturdies Bay and the mainlaners then found out the foot passenger space on the Tsawwassen back to Tsawwasssen was sold out. Chris and Ernie planned to go back via route 1 anyways but the rest also had to join them. They then took the 7pm from Swartz Bay back to Tsawwassen. After they boarded we left Sturdies Bay and went back to Bellhouse to catch the V's passing, we saw the Cumberland and the Tsawwassen, holding off Georgina Point on Mayne Island. So we saw like 4 ferries all at once off Bellhouse Park which was awesome and the Spirits later on. From there went and got something to eat, went back to the Bluffs then me Scott Donella and Nick took the 8:35pm Cumberland sailing back to Swartz Bay again via Pender. We all have lots of photos from today. I probably wont post mine till tommorrow though. It was a fun day and awesome weather for it too. So that is my little trip report!
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Post by Ferryman on May 25, 2008 22:28:33 GMT -8
Thanks Mr. Horn, for starting this thread for todays little outing. The group of us have worked hard all day to capture pictures of the 2 remaining V-Class and the Tsawwassen from every single angle possible. We couldn't have asked for a better day, with todays weather. So here's my point of view of todays trip. Most of us will have a different perspective, with all most of us being at different locations throughout the day. I arrived at Tsawwassen at about 10:45am, and met everyone onboard. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Route 9 crews have finally realized that they can swing the davit around, allowing the skywalk to be used at Berth 2. So here's something you don't see everyday. An hour after Departure from Tsawwassen, we were on Galiano Island. The Islanders had already arrived earlier, so they met us at the waiting rooms on the Sturdies Bay pier. Once we did the usual secret handshakes we all split up, racing to out photo stakeout points. We had NewFlyer and Coastal Skier ride their bikes to Bellhouse Park. Then Nick, Political Incorectness, and Karl went up to the Bluffs. Plus Scott, Donella, Mill Bay, and myself handled the Cemetary angle. The Cemetary and Bluffs group were able to keep in touch very easily, with the handheld walkie talkies that Nick brought along. This made for some good ferry chat over the airwaves. The Noon departures of the V-Class were indeed late, so this messed up the photo op of the two passing in the Pass. Not to worry though, we captured pictures of them passing in the Pass later in the day. Now by this point, we didn't want to sit around and wait for the Spooks (Spirits) to come, so we tried to do something else that was Ferry related. So we decided to drive down to Montague Harbour, and look at the remains of what was once a Ferry terminal. Nothing much is left, but if you use your Ferry geek imagination, you'll be able to tell what was where and how it would have looked. After Montague, we all went back to our Photo positions in the Pass, this time switching it up a little. However, I stayed at the Cemetary, because I had a feeling this time they were going to pass, in the Pass. Turned out, I was right. Who woulda thunk. After this, we were all happy with excitement. We radioed up to the Bluffs to meet up with the rest of the group again to compare photos. So we met up at the Market, near the turn off to the Porlier Pass road. We started to discuss whether or not us Mainlanders should go to Tsawwassen on the Tsawwassen, or do a throughfare via Route 5 and 1. Mill Bay, PI, and myself decided that was what we were going to do. Coastal Skier and NewFlyer decided to go home on the Tsawwassen. At this point it was 4:15pm, so we headed for Sturdies Bay. There was a huge lineup into the terminal, and this was when we knew we were going to have some troubles. The sailing to Tsawwassen was 100% full for both walk-ons and drivers. So NewFlyer and Coastal had no choice but to tag along with the rest of the Mainlanders on the throughfare adventure. We ended up leaving the 3 Islanders behind at Galiano, and the rest of us jumped on to the Queen of Cumberland. This was when another historical photo moment arose. The Queen of Tsawwassen was steaming out of the Pass, and the V-Class were running late again. So the V-Class passed in behind the Tsawwassen at the mouth of Active Pass. After the V-Class passing, we were well underway, and riding the Queen of Vancouvers wake all throughout the Pass. We made a "brief" stop at Pender Island, which took longer than expected, due to the Platform decks being used. This allowed for a tight arrival time at Swartz Bay, as we arrived at exactly the same time as our 7:00pm, Spirit of Vancouver Island sailing. We were lucky, we made it on without any problems. As we approached Swartz Bay, we had to stop just outside of the Gap, to allow for the Queen of Vancouver to pull out. Upon leaving Swartz Bay, another interesting thing occured. The SoVI took the opposite (south side instead of north side) way around the Islands outside of Swartz Bay. We tried to have dinner onboard before going through the Pass, but after waiting in the lineup for most of the time, some of us had to swallow the burger whole, and run outside to see the Queen of Tsawwassen coming out of Active Pass again. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention to my photos, as I was on the phone with Nick. I left my polarizing filter on my lens, causing some really dark photos. But I'll post them up anyway, as they still look kind of interesting. Now I finish off my posting about todays trip, with the arrival at Tsawwassen. Stay tuned tomorrow for some Active Pass horn recordings.
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Post by Balfour on May 25, 2008 22:32:12 GMT -8
Beautiful day for a ferry trip indeed!
I'll have my photos up tomorrow too.
I started out riding my bike across the Lions Gate Bridge then busing my way to Tsawwassen. On the Queen of Tsawwassen, I met NewFlyer on the cardeck locking up his bike, the walked up and we met with the rest of the mainland gang. We shot some pictures at the terminal, grabbed some lunch while underway and before we knew it we were at Sturdies Bay where we met the Islanders and of course, did the secret handshake.
This trip involved the gang splitting up and going to different points on the Island along Active Pass to take photos. NewFlyer and I rode to Bellhouse Park and caught the Queen of Tsawwassen leaving, then some minutes later the Queens of Saanich and Vancouver passed in front of us.
After that Nick gave us and our bikes a lift up to the Bluffs where the rest of the gang congregated, we then decided to go to Montague Harbour to kill some time, of course NewFlyer and I being on bikes were alot slower than the rest of the group so as soon as we got the Montague, we loaded our bikes into Nicks Truck and went over to the cemetery to see the V's pass in Active Pass. We did some moseying around then eventually went down to Sturdies Bay.
NewFlyer and I were going to take the 5:05PM sailing back to Tsawwassen, but found out it was full for foot passengers, so we ended up joining Chris, Ernie, Dan and his mom on the Queen of Cumberland's 4:40 sailing to Swartz via Pender, and the we took the 7PM sailing on the SOVI back to Tsawwassen. The sailing was uneventful for the most part.
So this is it, another epic ferry day, one for the book...
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Post by Political Incorrectness on May 26, 2008 0:12:48 GMT -8
Well I just got back from my 4 hour driving marathon back to the Mistakes.
Basically everything above and I am going to. post my pics tomorrow since it is LATE
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on May 26, 2008 0:35:49 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on May 26, 2008 7:18:20 GMT -8
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Post by Mike C on May 26, 2008 7:56:02 GMT -8
Good morning...! I am so tired, stiff and sore but I'll do my best to tell the story. It started as I walked on to the Tsawwassen (the guy didn't even collect my boarding pass) and locked up my bike, and moments later Mr. Skier walked in. A fairly uneventful sailing on the Tsawwassen, with Ernie, Chris, Dan and his mother. I ended up ordering food for the Island gang... but Chris paid for it. Upon arrival at the island, it was a brief hello and wave to the island crew, and me and Jordan were off to Bellhouse for pictures. The V's passed right in front of us, so there's lots of pictures of that. I called Dan, and asked if he could get Nick to drive us up to the Bluffs, which he did (thank-you Nick), and from there me and Jordan took the long ride to Montague... well it was long for me because of the extensive hill and the 20 pound pack I had on. When we finally rolled into Montague, tired, sweaty and sore, they were just leaving... ...so I threw my bike into the back of Nick's truck and rode with Karl. A stop at the Cemetery presented us with more photo opertunities of the V Class passing. After that, we proceeded to Sturdies Bay, and me and Jordan had the intention of travelling on the 5:05 back to Tsawwassen... well, we were terribly mistaken, and caught up in the chaos at Sturdies Bay no photos were taken, as we had to run for the boat to Swartz Bay. We rolled in and out of Pender about 20 minutes late due to the use of the platform decks. The boat was full. Upon arrival at Swartz Bay, me and Jordan biked the freeway out of there, and re-entered the terminal via Lands End Road. We bought our tickets in the foot passenger building, and got down to the car deck, amazingly before they had started loading. A fairly uneventful sailing, but afterward we gave Jordan and his bike a ride to Ladner Exchange, and we passed Ernie on the freeway. Yet another epic trip. I'm at school, so obviously I don't have my photos with me, but I will upload them tonight or tommorow afternoon.
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on May 26, 2008 11:33:55 GMT -8
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on May 26, 2008 12:01:00 GMT -8
My photos have now been uploaded and can be viewed here. (First 27 images)
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Post by Mac Write on May 26, 2008 17:15:11 GMT -8
Why wasn't the trip confirmed on the forum. I wanted to come. I love the passing photos though really nice, and the foot ramp actually being used at berth 2 with the TSA? Rare.
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Post by Political Incorrectness on May 26, 2008 18:15:12 GMT -8
I believe this thread should provide some answers.
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Post by Mac Write on May 26, 2008 18:20:12 GMT -8
Ask anyone on the May TSA route 9 trip and everyone was well behaved (and very well burned).
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on May 26, 2008 22:10:24 GMT -8
So, I finally had a few minutes to sort out my photos. Not a whole lot to add, so I'll just summarize a bit. I arrived at SWB around 9, and met Karl and Scott. The trip over was more or less uneventful, with the clouds parting and letting the sun shine through. We went straight to Bellhouse after disembarking We then picked the mainlanders up at Sturdies Bay, and headed out convoy style before we split up to the bluffs and cemetary I then whipped back down to Bellhouse, probably a little faster than I should have , where Mike and Jordan had gone on their bikes. I chucked their bikes in the truck and went back to the bluffs, where we met the others again. We went down to Montague Harbour, to see where the old dock used to be. To me, that old berth is very reminiscent of the Mill Bay terminal, in that there is no holding lot, and the road turns a corner right at the last minute. After, we split up again to catch the Vs passing, with several of us going to the cemetary, and the others going to the bluffs. After, we met at the market, and shed a tear for the Queen of Esquimalt. We need to definitely keep our eyes open for the name/port of registry change, which will come fairly soon, I think. We dropped the mainlanders off at Sturdies Bay, where they ran to catch the Cumberland to Swartz, and went back to Bellhouse to catch the Tsawwassen come in and the Cumberland head out. And for a Spook Then, we drove to the bluffs to catch the Vs, Tsawwassen, and Spooks head through before we raced back to catch the last boat off the island. We also posed for a group picture of us Islanders, which requires some editing, so it will be posted later. We then settled on the Cumberland for an uneventful trip home, aside from a spectacular sunset. All in all a very good way to spend a Sunday. Good people, good scenery and good weather.
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Post by kylefossett on May 26, 2008 22:15:12 GMT -8
if there were not any pictures of the spooks or the cumbie, i would think that i was on galiano sometime in the mid 80's looking at the ferries go by. v's and the tsawwassen on a glorious sunny summer like day
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on May 26, 2008 22:26:50 GMT -8
O.k. guys, how many of us spelled cemetery wrong? LoL
I remember a lot of us using the word 'epic' about yesterday's trip, so try this on for size: over 2 gigs of images: 634 by my estimation.
I figured this was the last time I wanted to be late for a ferry trip, or get the sailing time confused, so I left early and got to TSA by ten to ten, parked my car carefully (it's new...), walked over and got my ticket then started wondering around trying to find people. No one. Guess I was first there.
I noticed the Vancouver and Saanich lying side by side and thought that was a good photo, but I couldn't quite get a wide enough angle (nuts to all you Nikon SLR users... where were your wide angles...?) While I was doing that, the Saanich started to pull away so I got some interesting shots, but still couldn't quite fit them both in the shot. Then Dan suddenly said 'Hey', right behind me and scared me... I told him not to do that when someone is taking pictures.
I walked back to berth 2 with Dan and his mom and discussed a few things, then went off on my own. They had put the fence below the berth 2 waiting room back up, so I couldn't be devious again. I tried to phone Chris because Dan had said he was still in North Van, but he wasn't answering, so I wondered over to the Quay and bought a cheap hat because I knew the sun was gonna be focused directly on the thin spot on the top of my head.
I finally wondered back to the waiting room, after using the facilities and complaining about a lack of paper towels, and I was surprised to see the skywalk open and made dramatic narrations while I was going down it. My first instinct was to take a photo of the inside of it, but I didn't.
Dan and the bikers found me once I was on board and I tried to offer to help Dan spend some of his Canadian dollars since he was bemoaning having to carry around so many of our coins. Eventually we found Chris, and then went to the stern to watch the ship leave. The crew on board seemed to be having a fun time of it: First they warned us about the long whistle blast for leaving port, then they came on again and said "here we go with the whistle again" for the three short blasts. (And they were short.) Jordan was pretty ecstatic that they fixed the Tsawwassen's horn.
We went into the cafeteria and had our various meals, and then the island people called in for catering. Yes, the queen of tsawwassen does provide catering services, with deliveries courtesy of the Mill Bay.
Anyway, others have told how we all met up. I finally got the chance to meet Nick and he commended me for my dedication in driving so far for so many forum trips. (So when do I get my medal, guys?)
The photo ops were good, except I went the wrong direction for the second one, and should have followed Scott on the bluffs. I got one unique shot of the V's passing, but he had found a better vantage point. Donella and I were also summarily impressed with the market which stocked bottled water from Norway, in glass screw-cap bottles that look like giant vodka shooters. I wouldn't be surprised if there is bottled Galiano water being sold somewhere in Norway, too. (Guess what: it tasted like water. No kidding? Definitely)
And the adventure home has also been covered in depth too, except for the discussion that took place in reference to hard luck ferry trips. You know what I mean... the so-called ferry curse. I laid it out really plainly. I told Jordan it's basically the fact that if anyone gets hurt or trips or falls or damages something somehow on a ferry trip: it's either Chris or me, and usually it's both of us when we fall on top of each other. This was a really important discussion... take note, you might want to consider keeping your distance when you're around either of us, especially if we happen to be standing close to each other.
Fortunately, this trip was light on such incidents although Scott and Donella warned me about falling into Active Pass a couple of times when we were traversing the shoreline below the cemetery and, thankfully, there were no car troubles either this time.
So, yeah, I'll post a few of the 630 odd photos I have, but later... I'm too tired from the trip and from writing this expository essay.
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Post by Coastal Drought on May 26, 2008 22:46:47 GMT -8
I'm glad to hear those who went on the trip had fun. (Hopefully no one got sun burned!)
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Post by Mike C on May 27, 2008 7:16:11 GMT -8
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Post by Nickfro on May 27, 2008 8:59:45 GMT -8
Fantastic photos and summaries by all! It sure was a great weekend for ferry trips. This sounds like one that I would have thoroughly enjoyed. It sure would have been better than the round of golf that I played on Sunday. Remind me to never partake in any sports the day after a wedding! Some of those pictures of the two V's in Active Pass are dynamite! Great work, and I have a good feeling that this isn't the last trip of this type for the summer.
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Post by Esquimalt Queen on May 27, 2008 9:04:20 GMT -8
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on May 27, 2008 16:15:43 GMT -8
Another pic, a candid shot of a certain member with a distinctive T-shirt.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2008 16:42:35 GMT -8
i think that shirt rocks!! im so with that.
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Post by Political Incorrectness on May 27, 2008 16:56:21 GMT -8
Oh trust me, I got plenty of mugs to go around. Just wait, I still got to upload em.
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Post by Curtis on May 27, 2008 17:02:20 GMT -8
Dude! How long ago did you get that made?
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Post by Mike C on May 27, 2008 20:28:38 GMT -8
Dude! How long ago did you get that made? Friday ;D AND, I got marks for it. Take it from me kids, Graphics class rules!
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